The NFL wrapped up its season in spectacular fashion on Sunday as the Seattle Seahawks defeated the New England Patriots en route to their second Super Bowl victory. Once again, the Pittsburgh Steelers found themselves sitting on the sidelines.
With a new regime in place, though, the hope is that the Steelers can get back to that level with Mike McCarthy leading the way.
Looking at the Seahawks, they just provided a tried-and-true blueprint to winning the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, I’m not sure McCarthy can replicate that.
The Seahawks had built a young and stifling defense. On offense, they had an efficient group that just needed a few tweaks (including the quarterback position). Last offseason, they corrected that, and the results were another championship.
The Seattle Seahawks just gave the Pittsburgh Steelers the blueprint to win the Super Bowl
The Seahawks were a pseudo-competitor with Geno Smith at the helm. However, his declining play was making it harder and harder to justify starting him. They took a risk last offseason and went with Sam Darnold instead.
His play was far from perfect, but he did more than enough to lead this team to the championship. For a Steelers team that was interested in signing him last year, that has to sting a little bit.
To be fair, I’m not as concerned with the quarterback question for McCarthy. Even if that fixture isn’t on the roster right now, he has a track record of getting a lot out of the quarterbacks he works with.
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My concern lies with the defense.
An underwhelming unit, the Steelers have the star power on defense, but for the past few years, the unit hasn’t played at a consistently high level. There is a need for a talent infusion.
McCarthy himself has never had elite defenses. His pick for defensive coordinator, Patrick Graham, has a long history of underwhelming.
I understand that a lot of people like Graham as a coach, but it feels like he has never truly gotten the best out of the defenses that he coaches.
For a team that feels directionless, it feels like that unit needs to improve before this team can compete for a Super Bowl. I’m not sure how they get there during McCarthy’s reign.
Following the Seahawks blueprint, this defense would have to become a top-five unit filled with a mix of underpaid veterans and talented youth options. The offense would be built with young offensive contributors and, eventually, the right veteran quarterback addition.
The offense can certainly get there, but I struggle to see the defense getting there. This means the other route will have to be taken. That involves drafting and developing a true franchise quarterback who can make up for deficiencies elsewhere.
If you want to win a Super Bowl, you have to do one or the other. I’m not sure the Steelers can do either, unfortunately.